Angiography

[abhi2424]

My Grandmother has been detected with a blockage in heart, and its not getting well by the use of medicines.
Her Doctor is suggesting Angiography now.
Her age is 81 by now. I wanted to take other Doctors opinion about this case.

[tacolino]

Hi there. Im not a doctor but will share my patient experience. I have had Angiogram twice in the last 2 years. It is an invasive test, but one which provides the Medics with excellent information on heart function and any narrowing or blockages that exist. Like many tests, there are risks, but they are minimal. I wonder what test she already  had that detected the blockage? As you say in your post, your looking for other doctors opinions, you may be best to seek the advice of another  cardiologist to give a second opinion on things. Doctors do second opinions all the time , so don't worry on that front. Best of luck

[Ger57]

Well, I am not a doctor but, as I have had several angiographic procedures, give you my opinion anyway.

This procedure is very quick, almost painless and gives the best information about the blockages of the heart.
In many cases, the blockage is repaired with a stent during the same procedure.
The whole procedure will take about one hour.
After the procedure there will be some discomfort in the area where they entered the catheter (groin area or wrist) for some time (<week for groin, <1day for wrist).

As this procedure puts so little stress on the patient that the age of the patient is of no concern.

[Al Dente]

I'm assuming your grandmother has had some type of cardiac stress test to yield the result of a blocked artery.  I am not a physician, however a cardiac patient.  The only true way to get a look at the coronary arteries is with cardiac catheterization.  If she's not responding medically to treatment, angiography can map out the heart and the blockages thus giving a guide to treatment.

Cardiac catheterization does have risk, however it is minimized with a good team.  I can't think of a reason of why not to undergo the testing, which may lead to diagnosing a problem and treating it with a stent, or stents or the possibility of bypass--of course this all depends on how bad her condition is.

I had a cardiac cath 5 days ago and I have had a very significant number of caths.  If a person has symptoms regarding heart disease, and is not responding to medical therapy, then the next step is cardiac catheterization to see what's the status of the coronary arteries.

Best wishes.